Even after Microsoft updated the initial Windows Phone 7 update to fix …

Share this story

Earlier this week, Microsoft updated the first Windows Phone 7 update to fix issues found with Samsung handsets. Unfortunately, the updated update is also having trouble, with users reporting that it won't install on some handsets. The update was previously withdrawn for Samsung handsets when it was discovered that the original was failing to install and in some cases even bricking phones.

Though the new version of the update is faring better than its predecessor—there don't appear to be any reports of bricked handsets so far—and it is installing successfully to most Samsung devices (even those that previously failed to install the initial update), a minority of devices are still having trouble. Some users have reported that uninstalling applications and freeing up disk space on the phone has resolved their problems, but this is no panacea.

It's all rather embarassing, especially as the purpose of this first update was to update the operating system's update mechanism to ensure smooth delivery of future updates, paving the way for the first "feature" update later this month. That will bring the much-awaited copy-and-paste feature, along with performance enhancements and stability improvements to the Marketplace application. To have one update that fails to work may be regarded as a misfortune; two failed updates looks like carelessness.

Microsoft's official Windows Phone 7 Support Twitter account is tweeting that the company is "aware" of the issue with the update and "looking into it." Current advice is to refrain from making repeated attempts to install the update if it fails to install properly the first time.

Hey Peter, how about positive WP7 articles, like how WP7 browser allows you to upload photos unlike Safari in iOS for example. But of course, features like that don't matter when it's Microsoft right?

How is that news? Do you really want an Ars Technica full of "iPod Nano still can't control Taiwanese missiles" on a daily basis for every product in existence?

Besides, Peter already did the giant writeup on WP7 that was positive (and realistic), there are also articles about how popular WP7 is with its userbase (in terms of customer satisfaction). I think you're imagining bias here.

I would be interested to see comparable rates. Do all other phones update flawlessly or is there some percentage that is difficult? Certainly there have been issues with iOS upgrades to older phones and I understand some Android handsets don't get updates frequently (at all?), which would reduce this effect.

I understand that MS purposley fails the update under some circumstances, for example, if the phone cannot be backed up prior to an update because the host computer's drive is full. Is that true of others as well? I think MS recognized they messed up on many phones but also expects some level of failures because of this and say it is the conservative approach. I would hope, in those cases, the reason for failure would be clear.

As someone with a Samsung Focus, I really do appreciate the updates on the situation. Ah well - that's what I get for being an early adopter! This aside its been a wonderful smartphone, and a fantastic upgrade from my ancient Palm Centro.

Looking forward to this getting fixed, and hopefully NoDo will be smooth sailing.

I will say that some of the blame should be placed on Samsung - their two WP7 phones and one of their Android phones are having update issues, yeah? Doesn't let Microsoft off the hook, mind you

I would be interested to see comparable rates. Do all other phones update flawlessly or is there some percentage that is difficult? Certainly there have been issues with iOS upgrades to older phones and I understand some Android handsets don't get updates frequently (at all?), which would reduce this effect.

I understand that MS purposley fails the update under some circumstances, for example, if the phone cannot be backed up prior to an update because the host computer's drive is full. Is that true of others as well? I think MS recognized they messed up on many phones but also expects some level of failures because of this and say it is the conservative approach. I would hope, in those cases, the reason for failure would be clear.

I'd like to see some stats too. No software is ever without bugs, whether it's MS MP7, Apple iOS or Google Android.

one update that fails to work may be regarded as a misfortune; two failed updates looks like carelessness

That's pretty generous of you. I'd say "your very first major update failing to work may be regarded as carelessness; going zero for two (or -1 for 1 as Bedward puts it) looks like either incompetence or a dangerously brittle codebase."

Hey Peter, how about positive WP7 articles, like how WP7 browser allows you to upload photos unlike Safari in iOS for example. But of course, features like that don't matter when it's Microsoft right?

What exactly are you asking, that he choose a single aspect of WP7 then write a 2 sentence article about how awesome it is? Or do you want him to write an article about the entire browser, were the 2 sentences describing how it can upload photos will be completely drowned out by several paragraphs legitimately outlining it’s massive deficiencies? His job is to report news, not to randomly report some arbitrary feature of the OS so the recent streak of negative news doesn’t look as bad.

Here is a skeleton of the article;-the WP7 browser can upload pics

-the WP7 browser will completely interrupt what you’re doing and jump back to the top of the page when it finishes loading the page, about 20 seconds after you decided to stop waiting and just scroll down and start reading the relevant content. You’ll be frustrated, then angrily scroll down to where you just were right before the browser does this weird thing where it sometimes decides to quickly re-render some aspect of the page causing it to jump to the top again.-the WP7 browser apparently has problems rendering text sizes correctly. Visit reddit to see this issue in full glory.-the WP7 browser has no support for media queries making large portions of the internet resort to the un-optimized desktop pages or the useless WAP versions

Unfortunately for Microsoft, this otherwise minor glitch (in the scheme of things) comes at a critical time for their new platform. If this happened a year from now with WP7 already firmly established it would still suck for those so affected but wouldn't get anywhere near the attention. But after all the bluster and phony funerals and industry uncertainty over this 'clean slate' OS, the timing couldn't be worse.

After trying Windows 7 Service Pack One three times including once on a newly installed system, I can confirm that it certainly does break my programs that use direct show to display video. I have reviewed the documentation for the COM objects interfaces that my program uses and can find no indication that any of them have been intentionally deprecated. AFIK Windows Seven Service Pack One is a major update with no documented value and no documented content that breaks my system. It is going to be a long time before I install any new Microsoft software unless I have a very clear understanding of some value from it that is significant enough to me to justify coping with growing quality issues in Microsoft products.

I love how they tried to spin it as a positive thing on their blog that 95% of the updates worked, or had easy-to-resolve problems the first time around.

I wonder if Microsoft would have considered it acceptable if 5% of Windows users had their machines crippled by an update.

And for WP7, as already mentioned, this is particularly embarassing because 1) it is at a pretty critical stage in the product's life, and 2) their user base, and diversity in phoines is minimal, meaning that an update like this should be trivial compared to the ones they'll have to roll out two years from now, if the platform catches on.

Hey Peter, how about positive WP7 articles, like how WP7 browser allows you to upload photos unlike Safari in iOS for example. But of course, features like that don't matter when it's Microsoft right?

Hey digger, how about Microsoft fixes their broken code so that they can actually make WP7 the fully-featured mobile platform it deserves to be?

Hey DrPizza, how about recognising that at this point it's fairly clear the issue is Samsung's. Especially after some of the shitty Android update issues they had.

Tell me: who's shipping the update. Samsung or Microsoft?

Samsung's responsible for updates that Samsung ships, and I agree, their Android update track record is lousy. But Samsung isn't shipping this update. Microsoft is. If Microsoft is shipping an update that doesn't work, that's Microsoft's responsibility--even if the underlying issue is Samsung's. Before shipping an update for Samsung phones, Microsoft should make sure the update works on Samsung phones.

And even if the underlying issue is Samsung's, compatibility with the update mechanism is something that should have been tested before a single device shipped, and it should be a license condition.

I owned an Omnia 1 with Window's Mobile 6.1, and believe me this was a buggy combination, not too mention getting stuck with a two year contract. It's time to be putting the polish on these mobile OS's rather than fixing severe blue screen brick crashes. Presently the Samsung / MS combination is not faring any better than was umpteen Hardware Software iterations ago with Omnia 1

The PC Fanboys will never blame Microsoft for this. They will find a way to blame it on the user. Get a virus. Hey, it's your fault, loser! Update bricks your phone. Your fault. That's just the way the PC Fanboy rolls.

Unfortunately for Microsoft, this otherwise minor glitch (in the scheme of things) comes at a critical time for their new platform. If this happened a year from now with WP7 already firmly established it would still suck for those so affected but wouldn't get anywhere near the attention. But after all the bluster and phony funerals and industry uncertainty over this 'clean slate' OS, the timing couldn't be worse.

What kind of twisted logic is that?

If it wasn't for Ars, NOBODY would even know about this problem because hardly anybody owns a WP7 handset.

If this happened when they were well established, like Antennagate, you bet there would be an uproar. Right now there is no uproar because nobody owns the phone (where nobody == some irrelevant number of people who own a smart phone)

Hey DrPizza, how about recognising that at this point it's fairly clear the issue is Samsung's. Especially after some of the shitty Android update issues they had.

Hey Walshicus, did you notice the huge deal Microsoft was making of its QA process for phones, complete with robots, lasers and sharks? If you're a major industry player and a new entrant forces you to go back to the drawing board on your mobile platform and then you make months of loud noise about how you're going to make a stable, consistent platform even though you're partnering with a cat herd of hardware OEMs, you get to carry the can when your QA program fails on its very first update. Twice.

The PC Fanboys will never blame Microsoft for this. They will find a way to blame it on the user. Get a virus. Hey, it's your fault, loser! Update bricks your phone. Your fault. That's just the way the PC Fanboy rolls.

Hey Peter, how about positive WP7 articles, like how WP7 browser allows you to upload photos unlike Safari in iOS for example. But of course, features like that don't matter when it's Microsoft right?

Hey digger, how about Microsoft fixes their broken code so that they can actually make WP7 the fully-featured mobile platform it deserves to be?

Hey DrPizza, how about recognising that at this point it's fairly clear the issue is Samsung's. Especially after some of the shitty Android update issues they had.

A tighter, fully MS controlled ecosystem is one of the promises that brought people to WP7. We were supposed to get the hardware variety of Android, but with Microsoft forcing such strict guidelines on the underlying components and fully controlling the hardware, we were supposed to get the update experience of iOS. If you’re going to blame the OEM’s, then WP7 really has nothing on Andorid.

The PC Fanboys will never blame Microsoft for this. They will find a way to blame it on the user. Get a virus. Hey, it's your fault, loser! Update bricks your phone. Your fault. That's just the way the PC Fanboy rolls.

PC Fanboys? I believe you just invented a new term. Now if only you had something to apply it to.

I wonder if the issue is only cropping up on Samsung handsets. Samsung seems to have a very poor record with updates. Look at the Sprint Android phones from them if you don't recall. If someone has had an issue with the OTA update, have they had any luck tethered through the client? Wondering if this is more of a MS issue, or a Samsung issue.

one update that fails to work may be regarded as a misfortune; two failed updates looks like carelessness

That's pretty generous of you. I'd say "your very first major update failing to work may be regarded as carelessness; going zero for two (or -1 for 1 as Bedward puts it) looks like either incompetence or a dangerously brittle codebase."

This isn't even an update in the regular sense, in that its bringing new features.

Its an update to allow you to install an actual update, sometime in the future.

Actually, as near as I can tell from reading other articles, the problem is definitely at the samsung end, and they (again) signed off on this updated update saying it worked.

Microsoft can only do so much, especially considering this doesn't impact everyone with the same model phone. From what I've read, the original issue was dealt with, and this is a new one, that is distinctly samsung firmware related. Firmware samsung and MS signed off on as meeting the license terms, which it clearly is not.

I'm as much in favor of bashing MS as the next guy, but the fact is, Samsung is notorious for these issues, across multiple OSes, including Android and Symbian. Why anyone buys a samsung phone these days (when updates are the norm) is beyond me. MS, Symbian, and Google should yank Samsungs OS licenses. For Android, that just means marketplace access, but still.

one update that fails to work may be regarded as a misfortune; two failed updates looks like carelessness

That's pretty generous of you. I'd say "your very first major update failing to work may be regarded as carelessness; going zero for two (or -1 for 1 as Bedward puts it) looks like either incompetence or a dangerously brittle codebase."

Not an Oscar Wilde fan, I take it?

Edit:I must read all comments before posting.I must read all comments before posting.I must...